Top Things Students Need for College

Every year, A-level students scramble for university places on results day, and for many, the dream of living the life of a student becomes a reality. However, as the date to move into your halls or off-site accommodation draws closer, the list for the essential items you need to ‘survive’ gets bigger. The real question is whether you actually need all of these items. Let’s take a look at the things students need for college — AKA the top student essentials — you’ll need to make your first year at university as productive as possible.

Laptops and Tablets

This is probably the most essential piece of equipment you’re going to need in your first year of university, and thankfully they can be picked up relatively cheaply. Turning up to your lecture without a laptop or tablet is like turning up for an exam without a pen; personal computers will not only help you to further your learning, but they also allow you to work anywhere there’s a WiFi connection.

Depending on your course, technology preferences and budget, there are a variety of options available in the laptop and tablet market. From the lightweight and stylish to the storage monsters and high performance machines, you’ll need to assess your course needs before parting with some of your student loan.

For example, if you’re studying a music course, you’ll need a laptop with high performance specs, not only to record your tunes and edit them with specific software, but to store your music collection. On the other hand, if you’re studying a course that is mostly based on writing and surfing the internet, then you should be looking towards the notebook market of laptops. Notebooks are light weight, small, and contain all the software you need to take notes in the classroom while taking up unnoticeable regency in your handbag or rucksack.

Extension Plugs

Making an appearance on the “Top Things Every Student Needs” list is the extension plug, and until you realize how badly you need one whilst at university, you might have left it off your list all together. One of the down sides to living in university accommodation is the lack of power sockets in bedrooms, and you’ll be lucky to get two sockets even in the more modern bedrooms. Unlike the student accommodation with Urbanest, most student bedrooms and houses won’t focus on your electricity needs!

From mobile phone chargers to laptop cables, stereo plugs to television wires, you’ll quickly find that an extension cable will be an essential piece of kit that will make your life so much easier. Instead of having to switch plugs for different appliances all the time, just buy a multiple plug extension!

Stationary

Although laptops have made the need for large collections of stationary unnecessary, you’ll still need a few stationery pieces during your time on campus. Keeping a small packet of pens in your bag will always come in handy, and you can even buy note pads that fit into the palm of your hand. Unless you’re doing a maths or science course, where you’ll need specific pieces of stationary to do your work,  you’ll be able to find everything you need from the entire stationary shop in a few minutes.

Undergrad Success thanks gradberry for this awesome post!